Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Ethiopian Kenya Border killings of Turkana


Ethiopian armed men 'kill 38' at Kenya border - AFP



NAIROBI — An attack by Ethiopian armed men on a rival community in a remote region of north Kenya on their border left at least 38 people dead, a local official said Wednesday, warning the toll could rise.
"Where the incident occured is very remote and mostly not accessible," Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner Osman Warfa told AFP in an update on Tuesday's attack.
"Security forces have been combing the area since last (Tuesday) evening and the number of people killed by Merile militia men from Ethiopia is now 38," he added.
The raid had targeted fishermen and cattle herders from the Turkana community, who are normally armed in that region, he said. But several women coming home from market also got caught up in the fighting and were killed.
"By yesterday (Tuesday) only 18 bodies had been found. We had reports that more people had been killed but we had not found all the bodies.
"Based on the total number of bodies found so far, 38 people in all were killed," Warfa said, adding that the death toll might continue to rise.
"A security operation has been launched in the area and we are working with authorities from Ethiopia to help us apprehend those who committed the atrocities and help secure the border," he added.
There is a history of cross border inter-community violence between the Turkana and the Merile.
However Warfa said the two groups "have been living peacefully in recent weeks and even doing cross-border trade."
"We don't understand where the animosity came from," he said.

Stratex finds bonanza gold grades during sampling in Blackrock licence, Ethiopia



7:27 am by Andre Lamberti
Sampling work on the company's Blackrock licence in Ethiopia's Afar region has found bonanza gold gradesSampling work on the company's Blackrock licence in Ethiopia's Afar region has found bonanza gold grades
Stratex International PLC (LON:STI) said it found bonanza gold grades during rock sampling at the Black Water zone within its 100 percent owned Blackrock Exclusive Exploration Licence (Blackrock EEL) in the prospective Afar epithermal gold province of eastern Ethiopia.

Surface rock-chip samples returned up to 60.4 grammes per tonne gold from the Nesbitt target and 34.6 g/t Au from the Oasis vein systems at the Blackrock EEL.

Channel-chip sampling of Theodore target returned best grades of 25 metres at 1.15 g/t Au and 15.2 metres at 1.28 g/t Au, while best values returned at Nesbitt were 6.1 metres grading 1.01 g/t Au and 0.5 metres at 38.3 g/t Au.

The work has identified wide zones of gold on the Theodore, Nesbitt and Oasis vein systems over 4.57 kilometres combined strike within the previously discovered 14 kilometres of outcropping veins over the Black Water and Magdala zones of the Blackrock EEL.

Executive director David Hall said: "These first samples of outcrop at the Black Water zone have returned bonanza grades, i.e. greater than 30 grams per tonne gold, and wide zones of gold mineralisation up to 25 metres in width, further highlighting the potential for major multiple gold mineralisation at this exciting discovery where four key zones have been identified to date.”

"With this in mind, our exploration programme at Blackrock will continue at pace as we focus on advancing the Stanley, Nesbitt, Oasis, Theodore and Baker targets to a drill ready status.  We also eagerly await the results from a 3,000 metre drill programme at our Megenta gold project in Ethiopia, where we believe there is a potential to intersect, at depth, similar multi-gram gold grades."

It is anticipated that the Blackrock prospects can be fast-tracked through to drill-ready status before the end of the year.  The regional infrastructure is being rapidly upgraded by mining majors such as BHP Billiton which are conducting significant potash programmes.  In line with this, major camps, new roads and associated infrastructure are currently being established.

In the meantime, drilling of the company's first project in the Afar, Megenta, will commence shortly, funded by the joint-venture partnership with Thani Ashanti, an AngloGold Ashanti alliance.

The Canadian Press: Heineken wins bid to buy 2 state-owned Ethiopian breweries for 163M, says government agency

"Heineken wins bid to buy 2 state-owned Ethiopian breweries for 163M, says government agency
By The Associated Press – 16 hours ago
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — An Ethiopian official says Heineken has won a $163 million bid to buy two state-owned breweries.
Private and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency spokesman Wondafrash Assefa said Tuesday the Netherlands-based brewer wants to expand the breweries and introduce other products, possibly including nonalcoholic beverages, in the East African nation.
A Heineken spokesman told The Associated Press by phone that the company had not been notified about the government's final decision on the bid.
The world's third-largest brewer offered $78 million for Harar Brewery S.C. and $85 million for Bedele Brewery S.C.
Last year, Heineken enjoyed strong growth in Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, and several mid-sized Asian countries."

YouTube - White House Weighs Release of 'Gruesome' Bin Laden Photo

YouTube - White House Weighs Release of 'Gruesome' Bin Laden Photo: ""

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation: - KBC News

The militia crossed into Kenya through Lake Turkana

The Kenyan government has beefed up security along the Kenya-Ethiopia border following Monday's attack by the Merille militia from Ethiopia that left 20 Kenyans dead.

According to internal security PS Francis Kimemia, members of the Merille militia crossed over into the country through Lake Turkana killing one Kenyan and injuring another.

This prompted members of the Turkana community to trail the raiders and kill four of them.

It was an altercation that was to prove costly after word of the retaliatory attack spread to neighboring Ethiopia prompting a violent reprisal by the raiders' kinsmen that resulted in the death of 19 more Kenyans.

A security team led by Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner Osman Warfa and Turkana North MP John Munyes and officials from Ethiopia was on Tuesday holed up in a security meeting. A similar session is due to be held between the Kenyan government and a governor from Ethiopia.

The Kenyan government has since written a protest letter to Ethiopia over the incident.